Gender difference on the association between dietary patterns and metabolic syndrome in Korean population

Dietary patterns are found to be associated with metabolic risk factors. We explored gender difference on the association between dietary patterns and the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the general Korean population.

A total of 13,410 Korean adults (aged ≥19 years, 5384 men and 8026 women) who participated in the fifth KNHANES were studied. Dietary intake was assessed by the 24-h recall method. MetS was defined by the joint interim statement of the International Diabetes Federation and the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the relationship between dietary pattern and MetS and its components by gender.

Three dietary patterns were derived using factor analysis by sex: traditional, Westernized, and healthy. The traditional pattern was positively associated with hypertriglyceridemia (P for trend = 0.0098), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P for trend = 0.0007), elevated blood pressure (P for trend = 0.0328), and MetS (P for trend = 0.0003) in women only after adjusting for age, body mass index, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle factors. In contrast, the healthy pattern (HP) was negatively associated with abdominal obesity (P for trend = 0.0051) in women. For men, the HP was negatively associated with hypertriglyceridemia (P for trend = 0.0025) after adjustment for potential confounders. The Westernized pattern was not associated with MetS or its components in either men or women.

There may be gender differences on the relationship between dietary patterns and metabolic risk factors in Korean population.